WREXHAM manager Denis Smith obviously doesn't believe in lost causes, insisting that relegation is still not a foregone conclusion following Saturday's 2-1 defeat by newly-crowned League One champions Luton Town.

Despite the fact his Dragons side now find themselves 11 points short of safety with just four games left, the Racecourse boss put on a brave face and, without the slightest hint of irony, said: "We've got 12 points to play for and we'll try and get those 12 points.

"If we play like we did in the first half there's every chance of us getting them."

Even that sort of finish to what has been a nightmare season might not be enough to extend Wrexham's League One status. But Smith's refusal to throw in the towel sends out all the right signals to his players and to fans concerned about the club's continued existence.

Himself a pawn in the long-running ownership saga, Smith admitted he had no idea what the future might hold, but in a roundabout fashion committed himself to remaining at the helm.

"When you see them play like they did in the first half the players deserve medals just for staying here and doing what they've done," he added.

"But in the end if we get relegated I'll be two divisions away from where I want to be and where I believe the club can go. "I'm trying to be as upbeat as I can. A couple of things went against us in the second half which cost us the result. We've got to make sure we turn performances into wins.

"That's the difference between clubs that have everything going for them and those have everything going against them. And that's what happened today with the result.

"I believe the people who want to come in are the right people to take this club forward but they still haven't done a deal with Mr Hamilton. That's the problem and at the moment it's not happening, so we are stuck.

"But my next problem is getting three points on Tuesday night which I'm determined to do and we'll battle on until the last game of the season."

While Smith spends today preparing for the short trip to Port Vale, Luton manager Mike Newell can start making his plans for next season after the League One title was secured, thanks to second-half goals from Curtis Davies and Chris Coyne.

Davies' first ever goal could not have been better timed and Newell said: "We're delighted for him and for ourselves because just about everyone has now scored and it's been a fantastic season. I don't care what happens now and we'll go all out to win our remaining two games, but the job is done."

The former Everton striker saluted his players for the spirit with which they approached the second half after finding themselves second-best for much of the opening period.

"We weren't happy because we felt we were not on our game in the first half," he added. "But we know what they are capable of and it was just a case of getting it out of them.

"The way they came out in the second half, well it was there for everyone to see that they were going to take the game by the scruff of the neck."

That they did and Wrexham simply could not cope as the impressive Kevin Nicholls and Peter Holmes moved up a gear to wrest midfield control from Darren Ferguson and Danny Williams, while strikers Steve Howard and substitute Warren Feeney pushed forward to pull the home defenders all over the place.

Collectively Luton's ratio of completed tackles - some of which severely tested the limits of the laws - improved as the game went on, with Carlos Edwards, in particular, on the receiving end of several crunching challenges as he did his best to spark a response from his team-mates.

Striker Juan Ugarte and his replacement Hector Sam also felt the weight of an uncompromising Luton back line, where match-winners Davies and Coyne did their job with such efficiency and ruthlessness that goal-keeper Marlon Beresford was rarely troubled.

The writing was on the wall from the moment Nicholls saw his 52nd-minute free-kick rebound from Ben Foster's crossbar, the subsequent penalty area confusion producing a hotly-disputed corner for the visitors. Holmes delivered the ball to the near post and Davies was quickest to it, nodding the equaliser from close range.

Four minutes later the marauding Feeney crossed from the left and Howard's powerful header was only inches off target, but it was a temporary reprieve for the Dragons.

Within a minute another Luton free-kick was delivered with precision by Nicholls and this time it was Coyne who converted a much-practised training ground routine, arriving late in the penalty area to give Foster no chance with his powerful header.

For all of Wrexham's efforts to stem the flow the visitors worked harder and more effectively to win the ball and on at least three further occasions might have added to their tally.

That's not to say the Dragons failed to carve out any openings themselves because Sol Davies needed to make a vital interception when Craig Morgan went to turn home Andy Holt's 50th-minute effort - which would have put the home side 2-0 ahead.

And the inspirational Nicholls was in the right place six minutes from time to dispossess Sam after Chris Armstrong and Ugarte contrived the briefest of opportunities for the Trinidad international to salvage a point.

But the reality is that Wrexham, without a win in their previous four league outings, seem to have forgotten how to kill off opponents when they are on top. During the opening 45 minutes - two early defensive slips apart - the clearly below-par visitors were punished only once when Holt's magnificent 31st-minute header almost silenced the 2,000 visiting supporters.

Ugarte was all but anonymous while young midfielder Jones, pushed into an advanced role, went close with one effort and when a better opportunity presented itself, was let down by his first touch.

And after Dennis Lawrence, who had been scoring for fun early in the season, glanced a 43rd-minute header wide of Beresford's goal Luton knew they had been let off the hook.

NEXT MATCH: Port Vale (a), Tues, 7.45pm Luton's Curtis Davies takes the ball away from Juan Ugarte (above) as Dragons manager Denis Smith points out something to the fourth official (below) Andy Holt heads in the opening goal for Wrexham (above) but it wasn't enought for the Dragons who went down 2-1 after a second-half fightback from Luton Pictures: KEITH WILLIAMS